Hysterectomy 3 weeks ago

[P9LON]

Hi all, I had a laparoscopic hysterectomy, removal of everything and extensive endometriosis nearly 3 weeks ago now. My stomach is still so very sore and swollen. I’m still taking painkillers, but I was just wondering whether anyone else who may have had this done has experienced the same? Thanks

[MyStar86]

Hi, I’m only a week on from my op however I am very swollen and sore my belly gets worse every time I eat regardless what it is it’s horrible.

Have you tried the hystersisters website that’s very helpful for post hysterectomy support and advice! It is totally normal to still be sore and swollen remember how much train that has gone on inside it takes months to heal. Once the incisions have healed I will be using arnica to bring out the bruising and speed up the healing.

My friend is 7 months post op totally free from pain and happy but still feels she has swelling so please try not to worry week 3 you have a long way to go yet.

How have you found it impacted your bowels? Mines been awful but the gp is on the case doing stool tests today. Just upsetting as it’s really setting back my recovery.

I found an amazing lady on Instagram that I’m going to be working with once I get over this side I will have a look what her details are but she is worth a look as there doesn’t seem to be much help post hysterectomy and I’ve been scared about what I can and can’t do just scared of making it worse.

Massive hugs xx

What pain relief are you using remember some can also add to tummy troubles naproxen makes my tummy swell up so I can’t take any ibuprofen xx

[P9LON in reply to MyStar86]

Thank you so so much for your reply. I’ve not heard about the hystersisters so will absolutely take a look as well as the lady on Instagram 😘

I know it’s still early days, and so much has gone on. I just need to be patient and remind myself of that. Someone else mentioned arnica to me, so may be worth trying that also.

Touch wood, at the moment my bowels seem ok. I’ve not got regular movement at the moment, so taking cosmocol to help. My uterus was stuck to my bowel so I was suffering so badly with that prior to the op.

I’m taking Naproxen and Paracetamol. Perhaps the Naproxen is maybe having an impact… xx

[MyStar86 in reply to P9LON]

Someone recommended hystersisters after they had surgery they were not sleeping and would be checking it and found it reassuring. I get scared comparing myself to others recovery wise as I was very unwell going into my op so I know mine will take a little longer baby steps. Well saying that I find walking a killer but I did read and my friend was also told fully rest the first week only walk round the house if you feel up to it week 2 try walking outside for 3mins only and build on that week by week but always keep close to home as doing more is worse internally than doing less .

It’s my back im struggling with that’s sooo painful but the swelling in the belly is evil it stretches the incisions. My mum has been putting arnica on my back and I’m covered in bruises thanks to the arnica bringing them out as I also had a spinal anaesthetic however they were not very good at it and I’m covered in holes were he kept getting it wrong 😭 I remember nearly vomiting whilst he was struggling. I am very skinny and boney so just the surgery positions have destroyed it on top of having the ovaries removed will make the back hurt.

It’s hard the realisation of how painful it all is and how you feel worse than before then knowing it’s going to take a long time to recover is very scary. Seems there isn’t much advice post hysterectomy that’s why I went looking and found that lady once I’ve got the medical stuff sorted I will hopefully be working with her as I’m more scared of doing something wrong and setting myself back.

Message me if you ever need to chat as we are both going through the same. I’m taking paracetamol but the hospital will only let me take 1 every 4/6 hours due to my weight but that is not very helpful but I can’t take opioids so I have to try and deal with it as ibuprofen is the devil for me.

Good luck and massive hugs as I’m always told be kind to yourself and take it slowly xx

[P9LON in reply to MyStar86]

Bless your heart, I feel for you so much.

I also had spinal anaesthetic (second time I’ve had it) and it’s just so horrible. I was crying more at the thought of that being done more than the op.

I know we all heal and manage differently post op, but it still gives some comfort to be able to get advice from others.

Good luck to you too, and feel free to message if you’d like some support or just a chat xxx

[MyStar86 in reply to P9LON]

How are you doing now? Hope you are feeling better xx

[P9LON in reply to MyStar86]

Hi, really nice to hear from you 😊

I’m doing really well with my recovery thank you. My stomach is still a little swollen but not as bad. I’m still trying to run before I can walk, but I’m feeling so much better in myself. I’m due to see my consultant at the end of May, so I’ve got a few questions for him. One mainly is about my bowel because there was endometriosis on it, and I’d like to know how this is going to be managed going forward.

How are you? Xx

[MyStar86 in reply to P9LON]

I’m glad to hear you are doing better how many weeks are you post op now? Are you feeling able to do more now without pain etc? Do you feel the surgery has helped you?

I’m surprised they didn’t treat the endo on your bowel prior or during surgery. I have had two surgeries prior to hysterectomy and one in January was to remove deep endo from my bowel…..that wasn’t much help to my symptoms like I hoped it would be but they cut it all out as they wanted to do this prior to hysterectomy.

Hope your gynaecologist has some advice about future management. Do you have bowel problems?

I’m not doing good at all lots of bad but my bowels are worse than ever and I’m getting terrible nerve pain and insomnia so I’m not happy at the moment kind of feel like I will never be normal again.

Big hugs xx

[P9LON in reply to MyStar86]

I had it done 5 weeks ago today. Touch wood, the everyday pain I was experiencing prior to the op has gone and I’m more mobile now.

When I had the results back from the MRI, my consultant told me that as I’d exhausted all avenues with regards to past surgery and treatment, I really only had 2 other options - hysterectomy or bowel surgery. My uterus was stuck to my bowel, so although I was suffering from the everyday excruciating endometriosis pain, everyday I was also dealing with bowel pain, bowel movement issues etc. So in my mind I thought well the hysterectomy would at least give me relief from the pain (having everything crossed) and would also hopefully help relieve the bowel issues as my uterus would no longer be affecting it. My bowel issues have definitely eased but I am petrified that they may rear their head soon and that I’ll end up having to have more surgery anyway 😔

I’m so sorry that you’re going through a rough time of it. It really does get you down doesn’t it. Have you got support from your doctor/consultant? Sending you a massive hug 🤗 xx

[P9LON in reply to MyStar86]

I forgot to mention, I was really suffering from nerve pain in my left thigh. It hurt to touch, was tingling, I couldn’t walk on my leg properly. I spoke to my GP and they put me on Amitriptyline for it, and it really has helped xx

[MyStar86]

linktr.ee/Hysterectomyhelp

Her Instagram link is thehysterectomycoach

I don’t use social media but I went looking for help and found her might not be for you but worth a look xx

[EndoSuckss]

I'm 17 weeks post op from my hysterectomy and still get awful swelling!

It was explained to me that it can take around 12 months to fully heal internally, so I'm guessing it might happen for a while yet!

[EndoViking]

Hi l, I am 1 week post-op however I feel I am doing better than I expected. For me the trapped wind and my bowel movements are causing me the most issues, but it's early days and I fully expect to be up and down for a while. It will be a long process, but one bit of good advice I was given was to eat lots of protein as this is really important for wound repair. Lots of meat, oily fish, cheese, nuts etc, also leafy veg, fruits. Not sure if you will be able to see this link but it mentions food types for healing hss.edu/conditions_nutritio....

Even though I feel so incapacitated at the moment I have such hope now that I'm going to have a pain free future, the next few months of recovery are going to be so worth it. Hope you start to feel better soon xx